Every day I wake up and I find myself to be rich.
Not wealthy.
Rich.
I didn’t wake up to an alarm clock (unless a client needed me on the phone).
I woke up, lounged in bed for a bit, and got up when I felt like it.
That was a choice.
I decide what I will work on next.
Or whether I will take the day off.
I decide what I will eat for lunch and dinner.
Whether I will eat out or cook a meal from scratch.
I decide when to walk my dog.
Whether around the block or over at the dog park.
I decide to spend an hour in the workshop making some sawdust.
Whether that is for a book case or just practice cuts.
I decide to read a book for an hour.
Whether for pleasure or for business.
I decide when I will go to bed.
And in which city I will go to bed.
Every decision I made was made by me without the pressure of having to show up to a job, please someone else, or fulfill an obligation I never wanted.
I’ve stuck to this idea for several decades, if you have a lot of choices, you are very rich indeed.
Making a choice isn’t “making a decision.”
A decision is the metaphorical equivalent of whether you want burger or pizza for lunch.
Choice is deciding when to lave lunch, where to have lunch, what to have for lunch, who to have lunch with, and what you will talk about at lunch.
Every day, I am presented with choice.
And that makes me rich.
I’m richer than most everyone I know.